Sony shuts down Psygnosis....

Sony has closed one of the UK's oldest video game studios following a review of its operations.



Sony Liverpool employed about 100 workers. It dated back to 1984 when it was known as Psygnosis. The Japanese company bought the developer in 1993.

Its early titles included Barbarian and Shadow of the Beast for the Amiga and Atari ST. It also published Lemmings.

It was perhaps best known for later PlayStation releases including the Wipeout racing game series.

A statement released by the company to the games site Kotaku said: "We do regular reviews to ensure that the resources we have can create and produce high quality, innovative and commercially viable projects in an increasingly competitive market place.

"It has been decided that Liverpool Studio should be closed. Liverpool Studio has been an important part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios since the outset of PlayStation, and has contributed greatly to PlayStation over the years. Everyone connected with Liverpool Studio, past and present, can be very proud of their achievements.

"However, it was felt that by focusing our investment plans on other studios that are currently working on exciting new projects, we would be in a stronger position to offer the best possible content for our consumers."

The firm said other divisions at its Liverpool campus would not be affected. But it did not mention whether the staff at the shuttered studio would be offered posts elsewhere.

The unit's last title was Wipeout 2048 for the PlayStation Vita handheld console. A message on the game's Facebook page from the team said: "Thank you for everything, Pilots. It's been an amazing journey and we'll miss you."

'Times are changing'

The founder of the independent games studio Rebellion, which also employs staff in Liverpool, said the decision reflected a wider shift within the games industry.

"It's a tragedy when an old institution like this disappears, but the times are changing and games are moving from a retail-dominated landscape to a digital download-dominated one," said Jason Kingsley.

"Arguably the power that the big publishers had, employing lots of talent, was relevant to the old model - now the advantage of being big isn't so important and smaller teams can be just as effective.

"You can liken it to a jungle environment - when a big tree falls over it creates lots of opportunities for others to grow in its space. There is still a lot of life and excitement in the UK gaming industry, and hopefully opportunities for some of Sony Liverpool's staff too."

Evan Narcisse, a writer at Kotaku, added that the Wipeout series had seen a decline in popularity, but said the studio left behind a strong legacy.

"Psygnosis was one of the first games studios to deliver titles that felt like they were delivering a unified, artistic vision.

"Early titles like Shadow of the Beast expanded the polish, scope and ambition of the video game medium and didn't feel quite as disposable as other contemporary titles.

"It was also notable for making the transition from home computers to consoles, riding out a shift that many companies didn't survive. I remember playing Wipeout on the first PlayStation years ago... the art direction, music and feel was like nothing I had ever experienced."



A very sad day this as almost every gamer will have played a Psygnosis title, Be it Lemmings, Wipeout, Destruction Derby, Colony Wars or the frankly brilliant Rollcage....

sad day as another great bites the dust

Was really saddened when I heard this. What a fantastic studio and the quality of each and every game was untouched and something most other racers could dream of in terms of polish. Lost an amazing studio and I hope they set up on their own or find other homes within sony.

A new playstation hardware without a WipEout? Doesnt seem right at all.

Matt.

P.S If you haven't played 2048 on Vita your missing a real real gaming treat.

Fookin'ell it.s Matt.

Shadow of the Beast....countless hours spent playing that classic

I haven't got Wipeout 2048, although played the demo the other day. I was impressed and may pick it up at some point.

A sad day for gaming with this news though

Waylander FWG wrote:
I haven't got Wipeout 2048, although played the demo the other day. I was impressed and may pick it up at some point.

I don't know if you know but you can get all of the PS3's WipEout HD and WipEout Fury content on the Vita too, its free if you have the PS3 versions and £10 if you don't. The cross play works really well. Huge amount of content well worth a look

Matt

A tenner is a bargain to scoop HD & Fury as they are quality games!

Thanks Matt, I will have a look into that

Borrow my copy of Wipeout HD Shaun

You still need Wipeout 2048 mate. If you have that then you get access to HD and Fury as DLC (either £10 if you dont have it or free if you already own it) for the Vita (from what I have read)